Chapters
by PernilleKnudsenDK
Summary: Troy Bolton is a former professional baseball player, who was forced to end his career because of a knee-injury. He is now telling about his life to a bunch of hopefull athletes. The stroy involves a love that supported him through it all, even though she had to put her own career on a hold to be there for him. There is no perfect life, but this is pretty close. Songfic. Oneshot.


Chapters

**A/N: This story is inspired by the song **_**Chapters**_** by Brett Young. Beside the song it is somehow inspired by my own life too. I hope you enjoy it. **

**A/N: To those of you, who have followed me for a long time and have read my older stories. I am currently writing on the last chapters of one of my series, so I hope I will be able to finish it soon, and then I will move on to the next series to finish it. I am just taking breaks from the series to write a few oneshots that have been put away in my hard disc for some time. I am out of work right now, so I spent as much time as I can on writing, while I search for a job. And I hope I will be able to finish the stories before getting a job. **

Troy Bolton was sitting by his desk in his home office. He sighed as he went through the slide show for his talk the next day. He was going to talk in front of a group of young athletes about life after sport. Especially, life after ending the career because of an injury that made it impossible to get back to playing. It was always a risk, when a player got injured during his or her active career that it would cause him or her to never get back to the game again. Troy Bolton was one of those people. His ligaments in his knee had been torn and the meniscus was so damaged that they had looked at him and told him that he would not get to play again. Troy sighed. He had got it all. He had wanted to be just like his father. And yet here he was… an ex-player with a damaged knee, not like his father had ended his career. But Troy still had it all.

He smiled at the picture at the table. It was a picture of his wife of 6 years and their four-year-old daughter. He had met his wife in college, where he had gotten a scholarship to play baseball, while she was studying law. But her secret was that she was singing too, and after college, she had become a quite famous singer. Gabriella Montez, the one and only. Well, her name was Gabriella Bolton now, but when he had met her and once she became famous she was still Montez. Troy and Gabriella had known each other for 12 years now, been together for 11 years and been married for 6 years. She had been there through it all. The baseball-career, the knee-damage and him fighting to find his place after it. She had stood by his side through it all. She had even put her own career on a hold to be there with him, when it happened four years ago. It was right around the time, when he had got injured that Gabriella had found out she was pregnant. It had helped him cope a bit better with the situation, but it had still been hard. One day famous baseball-player with everything planned out for him, and then the next getting it all ripped away, because of one wrong step. It had been rough, but they got through it all. And well, it was not the perfect life that he had imagined, but it was perfect. And truth to be told, there is no perfect life and every future has a past. His future did just no include the things, he thought it should. He nodded to himself, "chapters…" he said out loud, "that must be the title of the talk." He typed it into the front page of the slide show. There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" Troy said looking at the door that slowly opened. "Hey princess," he smiled as his four-year-old daughter came in and walked to him.

"Daddy, dinner is ready," she said as she stopped in front of him. "Well, then we better go downstairs to eat with mommy," Troy smiled as he stood up and took the hand of his daughter. They went downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Hungry?" Gabriella smiled at the two of them as they entered the kitchen. "Starving," Troy chuckled and went to his wife and kissed her cheek, "do we need to help with anything babe?" Gabriella shook her head, "no, everything is set, so just take a seat," she smiled. The family sat down to eat.

After dinner they all went to play a game in the living room, before the four-year-old had to get put into bed. "Daddy, can you read to me?" the girl asked as he had covered her with the blanket. Troy chuckled and sat down besides her picking up the book from the bedside table. Gabriella had sat down in the chair beside the bed. "Okay, here it goes," Troy said and started to read the chapter in the book. Soon the little girl was fast asleep with her teddy hugged tightly into her chest. Troy smiled down at his little girl and stroke her hair before leaning down to kiss her forehead. Troy and Gabriella left the room to get downstairs again. The couple cuddled up in the couch.

"So are you ready for tomorrow?" Gabriella asked looking up at her husband.

"Yes, I am," Troy smiled, "I actually look forward to sharing my story with young athletes." Gabriella nodded, "so, how much are you sharing?" He shrugged, "about everything, I guess." "So it's basically your whole life, you'll tell them about?" Gabriella asked. Troy nodded, "I will tell them about all of the chapters in my life. From being raised on the Dodgers to laying right here with you," he smiled and kissed her forehead. Gabriella smiled, "I actually have something for you," she said and unwrapped herself from his arms and got up from the couch. Troy followed her as she went to the piano and sat down. She patted on the spot beside her at the bench. He sat down and looked at her as she started playing and singing.

"In chapter one, I was raised on the Dodgers. Every boy wants to be like his father," she smiled at him, "In Little League, when he was coachin' me, I was hangin' on every word. Sundays, he was the one who would lead us, Taught me everything I know about Jesus. Front row, he's on a roll, and I'm hangin' on every word. It sounds nice, doesn't it? I wish that I knew back then… There's no perfect life. You can't hold back time. But you hold on tight. Hopin' you might find, every page you've turned is a lesson learned. Ain't we all. Ain't we all just tryna get it right? These are the chapters of my life, mmm" she continued to sing the song.

As she ended the song Troy had tears in his eyes, "Wow…" he whispered as he whipped away his tears, "thanks babe, you just put my talk into a song," he smiled and hugged her tightly. Gabriella smiled, as they pulled apart, "I just thought it was time for me to give you a song," she said. Troy chuckled, "so all of the songs about love was not about me?" Gabriella giggled, "okay, then a new song," she smiled and kissed him. "Have you recorded it?" Troy asked. Gabriella shook her head, "no, I wanted to let you hear it before I would go that far," she said, "it is your life in that song, so I kind of want your permission to share it with the world." Troy smiled, "I want you to record it. Then I might be able to use it for my talks in the future," he said. Gabriella and Troy agreed that she would record it for him to use, and that it would be shared with the world as soon as possible.

The next day Troy went to the place, where he was going to talk in front of a bunch of young athletes. "Hey Troy," the man, who had hired him to come talk, greeted him as he came in. "Hey," Troy said shaking his hand. "So, we are almost there," the man said, "do you need to put up a slide show?" Troy nodded, "yes, I have it here," he said and held up an USB-pen. "Well, let's go and get it ready for your talk," the man led Troy in to the auditorium, where he was going to speak. A few minutes later the auditorium was filled with young athletes from different sports. Troy was introduced and it was now his time to speak.

"Hello everyone, it's nice to see so many young athletes, who will listen to an former pro-player," Troy said. "As mentioned, my name is Troy Bolton, and I played professional baseball for 10 years before I got a knee-injury that has kept me out of sport ever since." Troy looked around at the crowd, "I hope you will never experience that, but I also want you to know that there is a life after sport. There is a life for everyone of you with or without sport," he pointed around in the crowd. "I have spent the last four years getting a life that I am satisfied with, and today I'll share my story with you. From the first phase of my life, where I found the love of sport in my childhood to where I am today," he said and the front page of his slide show came onto the screen. "I have chosen to call my speak 'Chapters', because my life has so many chapters, so many phases that has defined it, and that has led me to standing here today. If you have any question during it, please raise your hand, so that I can answer them." Troy skipped to the next slide.

"In the first chapter of my life, my childhood, I grew up with a father, who was playing at the Dodgers. As every other little boy I wanted to be like my father, so I started playing baseball too. I practically grew up and was raised on the Dodgers," Troy told. "My father became the coach of my team in Little League. He coached my team, and I hang on to every word that he said. I loved playing baseball, and I enjoyed spending so much time with my father. But my father kept me grounded by taking me to church every Sunday. He taught me about Jesus and the religion. And I am not saying that religion is what keep people grounded, but it did keep my father grounded, and well, me too until I got to college," Troy looked around, the entire crowd was looking interested at him. "It sounds nice, doesn't it?" The whole crowd agreed. Troy chuckled, "well, it was," he admitted. "I got a scholarship to play baseball while going to college. So I went to college, where I met my wife. She kept me grounded in a new way. I am still going to church and keeping my religion, but not like my parents did during my childhood. Anyway, my wife was studying law, just as I did besides playing baseball. She helped me out so many times during our time in college. Once I got drafted to be a professional player, she stood by me. She has been there ever since, even though she had her own career as a singer after college." He skipped through the slides as he talked. "So on to the next phase of my life," he said.

"I was overwhelmed by the attention I got," he said, "I had a lot to carry on my shoulders. Not only was my last name known for being a great baseball player, but also my father had been one of the most famous players ever. And to top that, my wife, or she was my girlfriend at that time, and I was said to be a so-called power couple, because of her career of singing, and me playing baseball. Everyone expected perfection from us. So that was what people got. When we went out it was all perfect. We are one of those couples that have been able to get through it all without that many rumors or stories about us. Most of the stories were about our separate careers and us." Troy smiled as some of the headlines about him and Gabriella were shown at the screen.

"On the baseball side of my life, at the pitch as my coach would say, I was told, "Throw a ball, then you'll have it all."" Troy looked at the screen, where a picture of him and his first coach from the professional league was shown with the headline "Throw a ball, then you'll have it all". Troy nodded, "and he was right. I got it all. It was the best thing I ever heard. It was so easy to throw that ball in order to get it all. I had done it ever since I was able to walk. It had been my life all of my life. But then four years ago…" Troy clicked the next slide on. It showed him at a stretcher being carried from the pitch. "This happened. In the blink of an eyelid; end of career. I guess my body knew way more than I did at that time. In my mind, I was sure that I would just be out a few months and then I would go back. And still my body was working against me, and after an operation and some rehabilitation, the doctor looked at me and said, "you'll never play again."" Troy stood still for some time looking around at the crowd. "It was the worst thing I ever heard," Troy admitted. "Right there, it felt like my life was over. Like it all just got ripped away from me," he said. "And I am sure that it is how every player getting that injured feel once they are told that they will never play again." He looked around at the young athletes, "It sounds rough, doesn't it?" The crowd was silent, but they nodded. Troy nodded too, "yes, it is rough, but that is the risk we all take, when we are going for our dreams."

Troy continued to talk about how he had handled the time after the injury. It had taken so many hours with a psychologist, where he had been talked through it all. It had taken many tears and many days, where nothing really had worked. Along the journey of getting back on track, Gabriella had stayed by his side. Holding him tight, when everything had gotten too much for him. Troy had been a mess for the first couple of months of Gabriella's pregnancy, but she had been holding her head high. She had been his chore during it all. And when he finally started to come back to life and started to accept the fact that he was not going back to the pitch, he had taken over and was starting to get ready to become a dad, and even more become the husband of Gabriella again.

A girl in the crowd put up her hand, and Troy looked at her. "Yes?" he said. She stood up and spoke up, "So if you were to say one thing, you wished you knew back then, what would it be?"

Troy smiled, "good question, because that leads me to the next chapter of my life." He flipped the slide and a single line was shown "There's no perfect life". "This is what I wish that I had known back then. I wish people had told me that life is not perfect, and even when you reach your goal there are still things you'll want. Life is not perfect – not even as a professional athlete, because you'll always want more or be missing out on something that you also want. I've missed tons of family gatherings and many hours with my family and friends. I've missed out on celebrating birthdays. I've even missed out on my wife's birthday more than once because I was out of town for a game. And that's the price of being professional. You've got to have your family's support; the once who you love, and those that love you, have to be supporting you and be okay with you being away. I was lucky that mine were. And I cannot take back all the time I've missed out on, but now I'm here, and I'm spending more time with my family and friends than ever. I hold on tight to them, and I'll travel the world to support my wife and family, just as she has done it for me."

Troy looked round at the crowd, "every page you will ever turn in your life, is a lesson you'll learn from, sooner or later. You'll learn from all the things you go through. Every step, every injury and every person you meet. All of those things and people will give you something – hold on to it, be aware of it. It might help you later in your life."

A guy put up his hand. "Yes?" Troy smiled at him. The guy stood up, "so what will you do with your life from now on?" Troy nodded, "well, I'm still aiming for the perfect life and all of my goals. My priorities have just changed now. We are all just trying to get it all right, and to me, the right thing is to spend time with my family, go with my wife to her concerts, be with my daughter and watch her grow up, all of those things that I consider the most important to me." Troy flipped another slide, "I am sure that all of you will get a life after your sport, you just got to decide what you want." Troy looked at the crowd once again, "my wife actually made a song about all of this. And it will be out soon, but I'll share a quote from it with you." Troy looked down at his paper, "Truth is that we all got stories. Gotta fail on your way to glory. Takes time tryna get it right, but every future has a past, and right now I can hear God laughin'. Guess he must have heard my plans, and my odes. Thought it was a joke. Gave me more than I could ask," he looked up. "And I think this sums up every thing in this talk. Remember to stay focused, remember to be aware of the people around you – everyone matters. How you treat the people around you will affect your life after sports. I've been positive and always made sure to greet every person I met – the men that fixed the pitch, the security people, the people at the sales boots, fans, people from the press… everyone. Because how I treat other people, writes my chapters and my life. Everything we go through is a lesson in our lives. Nothing is going to be perfect, you cannot get a perfect life, but you can make the most of it. Even when your careers stop, you'll be able to continue being that person, because you are truth to yourself. Ask for help, when you need it. Help others, when they need it. And most of all, enjoy the ride – it's amazing, and it's an adventure that only a few people get access to." Troy clicked the clicker and the last slide was on, "Those things were my life, and how I am leading my life after sports. I hope it gave you some inputs, and I look forward to see all of you in the professional leagues of your sports in the future."

The crowd clapped and the person who had presented Troy gave a few instructions to it, before everyone left the room. Troy packed his things and went to his car to drive home to his family as he had done so many times before. Only this time, it meant a bit more, because they were the chapter that he was currently writing, and it meant the most to him.

He opened the door and called "I'm home," into the house. The little four-year-old girl came running to him, "daddy!" she laughed and he picked her up. "Hi beauty," he smiled and kissed her cheek, "where is mommy?" "In the living room," the girl said, "she has something for you." Troy walked to the living room and found Gabriella sitting at the couch with something in her hands. "Hey babe," he said as he sat down beside her, "what's up?" Gabriella looked at him and handed him the picture she was holding in her hand. "What is this?" Troy asked. Gabriella smiled, "this is a new chapter of our lives. I'm pregnant," she smiled at him. Troy kissed her softly, "that's the best thing you have ever said to me." Gabriella giggled, "I thought it was, when I agreed to marry you that was the best thing I ever said." Troy chuckled, "okay, one of the best things then." Gabriella cuddled up against Troy and their daughter cuddled up against his other side, "there's no perfect life, but this really is close to perfect with my girls and a little new one on it's way," he said and kissed Gabriella's hair and caressed both of them as they sat there talking about the little new member of their family. A whole new chapter to be written.


End file.
